Sunday, November 18, 2007


Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Shreyas Talpade, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal, and Malaika Arora KhanDirector: Farah Khan

Om Shanti Om (Hindi: ओम शान्ति ओम, Urdu: اوم شانتی اوم) is a Bollywood film directed by Farah Khan. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles as the protagonists while Shreyas Talpade and Arjun Rampal feature in supporting roles. Guest appearances are made by several stars. This film focuses on Om (Shah Rukh Khan) who grows up in the seventies. This is the time when he meets Shanti (Dipika Padukone ), the love of his life but shortly thereafter suffers an untimely demise. Om is immediately reincarnated and the story flash forwards to the present day. Haunted by memories of his past life and his true love, Om attempts to solve the mystery of his death, and also reunite with Shanti, the love of his past life. Om Shanti Om is said to be inspired by the Hollywood movie, Chances Are, where a man is reincarnated and instantaneously attempts to find the wife from his previous life. Om Shanti Om has over 30 well known Bollywood stars including Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Sanjay Dutt, Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan putting in a guest appearance for a special song and dance sequence in the film, a concept recently used by Farah's brother, Sajid Khan in the opening number of his film, Heyy Babyy.Farah Khan's husband, Shirish Kunder (director of Jaan E Mann) is in charge of Om Shanti om's editing. He was previously involved in the same department for Farah's debut movie, Main Hoon Na. Om Shanti Om features Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role and introduces Deepika Padukone as his love interest. The supporting cast includes Arjun Rampal (recently seen in the film Don) and Shreyas Talpade.
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Friday, November 9, 2007

Bhool Bhulaiyaa


Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a psychological thriller suspense / horror black comedy movie with moderate Bollywood song and dance. The Hindi language release is the official remake of the critically acclaimed and huge box office hit 1993 Malayalam classic psycho-thriller film, Manichitrathazhu (translation - The Ornate Lock) starring Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Shobhana which was also remade in Kannada (Aaptamitra) starring Vishnuvardhan in 2004, and in Tamil and Telugu (Chandramukhi) starring Rajnikanth in 2005.[1] The film features Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Amisha Patel and Shiny Ahuja in pivotal roles with Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav in supporting roles. Songs are by Pritam (music) and Sameer (lyrics), with the background score by Ranjit Barot. The editors are N. Gopalakrishnan and Arun Kumar.Vidya Balan is the female protagonist of the movie. In the Malayalam original, Shobhana played the role. Her performance won her a National Award for the Best Actress. In the Kannada version (Apthamitra), Soundarya, one of the top South Indian actresses, played the key role. Unfortunately, it was her last film before her fatal accident. Soundarya won the Best Actress award in the Filmfare Awards 2004 for the role which she played in the movie Apthamitra. In the Tamil version (Chandramukhi), Jyothika donned the role and was awarded best actress award by Tamil nadu Government.The film began shooting on February 18, 2007 for a 41-day schedule at Jaipur, India and was released on October 12, 2007.
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Happy Diwali!!! - The Festival Of Lights....



"For Hindus, Diwali (Deepavali) is not only a festival of lights but also is a special occasion to worship Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi. For Jains, it is an occasion to remember Lord Mahavira. For Sikhs, this day is known as the "Bandi Chhorh Divas" (the day of freedom)."

Divali, or Deepavali (in Hindi - दिवाली or दीपावली), is a major Indian festival, significant in Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. Celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe, as the "Festival of Light," where the lights or lamps signify the uplighting of darkness and victory of good over the evil within.The day also commemorated the homecoming of King Rama of Ayodhya, after a 14-year exile in the forest[1], and thus the people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed him back by lighting up rows of lamps (deepa-wali), thus its name, Deepawali, or simply shortened as Divali.The celebrations focus on lights and lamps, particularly traditional dīpa or deeya (earthen lamp), and fireworks. Though colloquially called Divali in North India, in South India it is called Deepavali.Divali is celebrated for five consecutive days at the end of Hindu month of Ashwayuja (amanta). It usually occurs in October/November, and is one of the most popular and eagerly awaited festivals in India. Divali comes exactly twenty days after Dussehra. Hindus, Jains and Sikhs alike regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships. For Hindus it is one of the most important festivals, and beginning of the year in some Hindu calendars, especially in North India.There are several beliefs regarding the origin of the holiday. The most repeated version is that Hindus celebrate Divali to mark the time when Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana. Some also view it as the day Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura or in honor of the day Bali went to rule the nether-world, obeying the order of Vishnu. In Jainism it marks the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, which occurred on Oct. 15, 527 B.C. It is also a significant festival for the Sikh faith. In India, Divali is now considered to be more of a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Saawariya


At two hours and eight minutes of playing time “Saawariya” is one of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s shortest films ever. His last work, “Black”, was just a few minutes longer but had no songs.
Bhansali’s second film “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam” had 10 songs and a playing time of three hours.

“Saawariya”, with eight songs, is far shorter than the opulent and stunning “Devdas” which ran into three hours and 10 minutes with a mix of songs, dances and operatic drama.

Economy of expression defines the romance between Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor in the much-awaited film. From the time his eyes fall on Sonam, Ranbir celebrates his love in ecstatically composed and choreographed numbers that create a waltz of a thousand steps with just gestures and whispers.

“Saawariya” is Sanjay’s subtlest, most quiet and mellow film to date. While almost every sequence in “Devdas” and “Black” culminated in an operatic crescendo, the shot compositions in “Saawariya” suggest a symphony rather than an opera.

The eight elaborate songs and dances in the musical love story take up quite a chunk of the film’s precious playing time. What remains between the two people in love are those unspoken words and unshed tears of a relationship that knows no full stop.

Songs have been used to propel the story forward in “Saawariya” and every song tells a tale. Monty Sharma’s tunes and Sameer’s lyrics create a structure akin to a raga.

“Saawariya” is a formally structured romance with the episodes between the protagonists moving forward in power-packed pirouettes of passion.

The presiding colour of “Saawariya” is blue, which defines the spaces that separate and bring the lovers together. But the mood after the film’s first screening was anything but blue.

It was unanimously felt that Bhansali’s latest work takes him far ahead of his earlier films. For those who think all his films are about thundering passion, “Saawariya” is a bolt from the blue.

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The World Of Whiskies



Whisky (Scottish Gaelic: uisge-beatha), or whiskey (Irish: uisce beatha or fuisce), refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks (generally oak).

Different grains are used for different varieties, including: barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (corn). Whisky derives from the Gaelic word for "water" (uisce or uisge), and is called in full uisge-beatha (in Scotland) or uisce beatha (Ireland), meaning "Water of Life". It is related to the Latin aqua vitae, also meaning "water of life".[1] It is always Scotch whisky, and Irish whiskey.

The first written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland,[2] where it was distilled by monks.[1] It is also mentioned in Scotland in 1496.[3] However it is thought that whisky had already been around for at least several hundred years prior. When or where whisky was first distilled is unknown and the local, undocumented beverage production during the period makes identification of the drink's origin difficult. Additionally, it is possible that different groups discovered processes of distillation completely independently of one another.
A Scotch whisky distillery

 
Some scholars believe distilled spirits were first produced between the 8th century AD and 9th century AD in the Middle East[4] with the art of distillation being brought to Ireland and Britain by Christian monks. A popular legend is that St. Patrick introduced distillation to Ireland and Britain, however it is likely he lived around the 5th century AD. It is also possible that the distillation process was discovered in Ireland and possibly Britain (either independently or in precursor to Arabian distillation) by farmers as a way of making use of excess grain after harvest.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Happy Birthday Shahrukh, " The King Khan"




Shahrukh Khan (born November 2, 1965) (Hindi: शाहरुख़ ख़ान, Pashto/Urdu: شاہ رخ خان) is a highly acclaimed Bollywood actor, producer, and recent host of the game show, Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Khan started out his career appearing in several television serials in the late 1980s. He made his film debut with the hit Deewana (1992), and has been part of numerous commercial successes, delivering a variety of critically acclaimed performances as well. During his career years, he has won six Filmfare Best Actor Awards, and has had significant box office success, with films like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), being some of Bollywood's biggest hits, while films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Veer Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (2006) were the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market. Since then, Khan has established himself as one of the most prominent leading actors in Bollywood. Since 2000, Khan branched out into film production and television presenting as well.

JAB WE MET


JAB WE MET

By Subhash K Jha

Starring Kareena Kapoor & Shahid Kapoor
Written & Directed by Imtiaz Ali
Rating: *** ½

There are actually three major reasons why this film must be seen. Kareena Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor.

Having gotten beyond her effervescent walk-on-sunshine in this moon-soaked ode to that hoary feeling called love, there are, to our utter delight, several other factors piloting this mellow and amiable flight into never- never land.

In a tailor-made salwar-kameez clad role, Kareena playing a boisterous Sikh girl on her way to tell her parents about her boyfriend meets up with a brooding suicidal jilted entrepreneur.

The sparks fly instantaneously ….or should that be, infinitely…..since the sparks tend to fall in volumes of ignited light all across the film's incandescent horizon creating a briskly moving screenplay that looks straight into the heart.

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